Topic: Album Review

So far this decade, R&B has been experiencing a golden age. From Miguel and Frank Ocean to How To Dress Well and James Blake, boundary pushing R&B has experienced a critical and commercial renaissance in the past few years. Meanwhile, acting as a tide to rise all boats, Adele’s 21 has been an unstoppable sales juggernaut. Tapping into an unknown appetite for traditional folk R&B, 21 rode several monster singles to become the only 10 million seller of this decade. Continue...

There was a moment about three years ago when I fell in love with The Black Keys. It wasn’t in 2010 when Brothers came out. Sure “Tighten Up” was a great song and it’s impossible to not like “Howlin For You.” The moment I fell head over heels for The Black Keys was the first time I heard “Lonely Boy,” the first single from the bands 2010 effort El Camino. The way the feedback lingers, just for a second before the guitar kicks in followed by an onslaught of drums and keys. It just worked. Continue...

During one of the recurring radio call in shows from the future skits that populate The Electric Lady, a caller proposes to the DJ that Cindy Mayweather (the fictional heroine of the album) is the same person as the Archandroid (hero of Monae’s last album). Upon hearing this, the DJ cuts the caller off and tells the listeners he won’t stand for that kind of crackpot nonsense. The point here is obvious, this is still Janelle Monae, but for those hoping for a direct sequel to The Archandroid, they can go ahead and keep hoping. Continue...

A wise man once told me “it’s hard to start a scene in a city where you can’t buy beer after 11.” he was referring, of course, to the city of Boston. Well, it seems someone forgot to tell Speedy Ortiz about municipal liquor laws, as they are at the forefront of a burgeoning new indie punk scene coming out of Bean Town. After a series of promising EPs, Speedy Ortiz makes their official debut with Major Arcana, as assured and enjoyable a debut as I’ve heard in quite some time. Continue...

There comes a time in every mans life when he just stops caring what people think and does what he wants. 99.9% of men never arrive at this moment. Kanye West is the other 0.1% and Yeezus is the press conference to make this announcement. Continue...

Attention people who dream of visiting the moon, or dancing with aliens on the lunar surface of Mars. I have the passport into the vast, strangeness that is outer space. It will cost you the price of whatever form of music you choose to PAY FOR via The Flaming Lips on their new record titled The Terror. Continue...

One guy who draws all kinds of attention for his every move is Justin Timberlake. People obsess about what he’s doing, or how he got to be the cultural apex of cool to a lot of people, who like a lot of things, and move in a lot of different circles. Ask most people who drive one way or another on the musical highway, JT is not the Jay Leno of pop music, in fact, he’s the Letterman of the game. And when someone who beats Johnny Cash for some hokey award and is speechless for his victory, then dedicates the award to the man; that shows legitimate kudos. Continue...

When you’re a legendary artist, things can get skewed. The early stuff that made your career in the first place is what people want to hear, and very rarely, do people want to stay engaged to whatever new music someone is working on when they come to town. Most people want the hits, the stuff they know. But, sometimes a legend can wind up in a situation that reinvents his career, and a whole new onset of folks get to appreciate the music that they might have once turned their nose up at, but now, are digging through the crates to seek out the original pressings of. Continue...

When I first heard the single “Tattoo” from the new Van Halen record “A Different Kind of Truth,” I was fully prepared to write the record off as another waste of time from a classic band grasping for air as they try to milk the reunion machine. “Tattoo” is awful. Why the record suit and tie machine decided that would be the single is beyond comprehension. It gives the record a terrible perception upon first listen. Continue...

It’s rare when an album can blow someone away. Sure, there are some great albums out there but how often are we truly taken aback? Chances are it’s not all that often. With everyone and their mother talking about Kanye West and Jay-Z’s new album “Watch The Throne,” Eminem and Royce da 5’9″ quietly released their second album under the moniker Bad Meets Evil called “Hell: The Sequel.” What’s crazy is that this album came out almost two months ago! Continue...